Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-17

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You have bought some clothing online and are not satisfied with your purchase.

Write a letter to the company that you bought the clothing from. In your email:

• give details of the purchase
• describe the problem
• explain why you need a replacement urgently

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Sir,

I am write with my dissatisfaction that I am not glad with a purchase which I did last week of this month.

I heard that there is a huge discount on every item if people buy something from online. Therefore I decided to purcase one coffee maker because I am a found of drinking coffee everyday. Moreover, I bought some casual cloths for my college trip. In the end, there was a pair of sockes which I chose to buy.

I have to face some issues. Firslty, when I recevied my parcel, I saw that the coffee machine was broken into fewer parts. But I fixed it and tried to use, it did not trun on. Furthermore, I found that the color of my garments is not some as it was shown in the picture, and the size of one pent does not fit me.

I would very happy if you can replace my item as soon as possible because I can not daily afford a cup of coffee from outside due to expensivness. Secondly, we all team member decieded to wear casual cloths on the trip so I need a replacement quickly.

I look forward to hearing from you

Your sincerely

Sandeep

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The candidate addresses all bullet points of the prompt, successfully giving details of the purchase, describing the problems, and explaining the need for an urgent replacement. However, there are some misinterpretations and distractions in the content. For instance, the prompt specifically asks about online clothing purchases, yet the student mentions buying a 'coffee maker' and a 'pair of sockes'. Although these irrelevant details distract from the focus on clothing, the core requirements—details of the purchase, describing the issues with the garments and the coffee machine, and explaining the urgency—are all present and supported with relevant ideas. The tone is appropriate for a formal complaint letter despite the inclusion of extraneous items. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, positioning the response well within the Band 6 criteria.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing that follows a logical progression from the introduction to the details of the purchase, the problems faced, and the concluding request for a replacement. Cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'Moreover', 'Firslty', and 'Furthermore' are used to connect ideas, though some are mechanical or slightly awkward. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different parts of the letter. However, referencing is sometimes unclear, and the mechanical transition of ideas prevents the response from achieving a higher band. Overall, the organizational structure is easy to follow, making this a solid Band 6 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases such as 'dissatisfaction', 'huge discount', and 'as soon as possible'. However, there are several noticeable lexical errors and inappropriate word choices throughout the text, including 'purcase', 'found' instead of 'fond', 'cloths' instead of 'clothes', 'sockes', 'pent' instead of 'pants' or 'trousers', and 'expensivness' instead of 'expense'. Spelling errors like 'Firslty', 'recevied', and 'decieded' also occur. While these errors do not impede overall communication and the meaning remains clear, they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures such as 'I heard that there is a huge discount...' and 'I would very happy if you can replace my item...'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors including tense misuse ('I am write', 'did last week'), missing auxiliary verbs ('it did not trun on', 'I would very happy'), incorrect prepositions, and structural awkwardness ('the color of my garments is not some as it was shown'). Punctuation and sign-off formatting also show inconsistencies. These frequent errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader, placing the grammar performance firmly at Band 5.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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